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Facebook’s User Data Collection May be Barred by German Watchdog Group

A newspaper published Sunday reports that German anti-trust watchdog plans to order Facebook to stop collecting some user data. Facebook has been investigated over the last 4 years by the Federal Cartel Office, the national competition regulator of Germany.

The Federal Cartel Office has now said that it will submit its conclusions to Facebook. Reuters noted that the group has been researching Facebook since years and that the company has abused its dominant market position to collect data about people without its knowledge and consent. The Office accuses Facebook without its knowledge or consent of using its market dominance to collect data from its users.

Facebook May Face Hefty Fine for Non-Compliance

In the coming weeks, it will present the social network with a decision on what measures it must take, but Bild reports that, rather than demanding immediate action, the Bundeskartellamt will most likely set the time limit. In addition to issues in the US, a $644,600 fine was also imposed on Facebook in the United States. After it has been established that the scandal has affected an estimated 1 million residents. It could not comment on the ongoing case, the Bundeskartellamt said. Facebook has previously faced German scrutiny on hate speech and false news, with another watchdog group complaining about privacy concerns about its WhatsApp message app.

In case of non-compliance, Facebook is likely to face a fine of 10 million euros.

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